I recently visited Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Market in downtown Waco, Texas (Chip and Joanna are known for their HGTV show “Fixer Upper.”)
If you’re into real estate or you watch those shows, you know something about these people, because they're not just a commodity or another house flipper.
They’re a family unit. They're a business that stands on core values, and that's important for everybody.
The Gaines do a fantastic job in real estate with house flipping, and the marketplace today is perfect for that kind of business.
There's lots of money circulating in the economy right now – both investors and homeowners are buying like crazy.
Will this cycle last? Is this time different?
I’m warning you: It is not.
Now, I don't know Chip and Joanna Gaines or their business model – but I bet they're smart enough to be thinking ahead.
I bet they’ve taken some chips off the table to keep a margin of safety.
Because when the market does turn – and it will turn again – their primary business may take a hit. They’ve got to be prepared, and have a plan B in place.
My question for you is: Do you have a plan B?
You may be rocking it right now in your business or professional practice, and I hope that you are.
I hope you're taking advantage of the window of opportunity that we have, but folks, it doesn't last forever. There's always going to be downturns in the economy.
We can't control that, but we can control how we prepare for it.
What are you doing right now to set yourself up with those safety margins?
If you can be one of the few that takes advantage of the downturn, you will come out on the other side as a successful survivor.
That's what smart people do.
They prepare for the downturns. They know what they look like, and they have a safety margin.
And as they ride the market reset, a lot of the competition goes away for good.
That's your time to really take a stake in your industry or your business position.
But do it with conviction. Do it with a core purpose, because that's what people don't forget. They never forget what you stand for.
They may forget what a great job you did on their last service or the last product you provided, but they will never forget what you're about.
If you stand up for who you are, your core values, and your convictions, you will never be a failure.
All the people who line up at the Magnolia Market are not there to buy houses, but to get just a piece of what Chip and Joanna are about.
That's what you want to create.
Make it part of your Plan B. Create a mission that survives through any kind of economy, and you will not only survive – you will thrive.
